There have been oodles of articles this week noting United Airlines’ system migration from Apollo to Shares this coming weekend, but very few offer any type of inside scoop as to what exactly will be happening. I found this one from a travel agency perspective that sheds a bit more light on the process and thought a few points are worth sharing.

Among the highlights:

• An estimated four-hour disruption to United’s automated systems and access to flight information in GDSs will begin at 1:00am EST March 3.
• Website functionality will be down during the same time period.
• During the “dress rehearsals” when issues popped up, manual workarounds had to be setup.
• United will have “hundreds of employees” on hand to deal with post-conversion issues.
• Some flights from points in Asia will depart earlier to later to avoid the transition period.
• PNRs containing CO segments will automatically change to UA segments.
• PNRs containing CO segments with schedule changes for UA segments will need to be manually updated.
• Changes to Continental tickets issued on 005 stock after the integration will require special handling.
• United will continue to accept 11-digit Mileage Plus numbers through the end of March.
• Travel agencies will not be able to sell Economy Plus seats through their GDSs after the integration (no ETA for a fix).

According to the United representative this reporter spoke with, “In general, we think we’re ready for it.” Not exactly the most reassuring statement, actually.

Here are my recommendations to best prepare your own itineraries before the changeover:

• Print (or save to a PDF) all itineraries with Continental and United and ensure the ticket numbers are included (they’ll start with either 005 or 016).
• Print (or save to a PDF) both your Mileage Plus and OnePass account activity to-date.
• Clear any schedule changes appearing on your Continental and United itineraries.

It will be an interesting few days (or weeks?) ahead. I’m flying mid-week next week, but I actually wish I had planned flights for this weekend just to experience the airport scene first-hand on Day One.

In other airline industry news this week…

• United Airlines announced new daily nonstop service from Newark to Istanbul effective July 1, 2012. Initially the route will be flown with United’s current international 767-300ER aircraft with three classes of service, but beginning August 28, the airline will swap in a new configuration that features BusinessFirst, Economy Plus and standard economy. United is planning to convert the current domestic 767-300 fleet typically seen on the Hawaii routes into this new layout.
• Delta Air Lines completed the installation of Wi-Fi on all Delta Shuttle aircraft flying the New York-LaGuardia to Boston, Washington National and Chicago O’Hare flights. According to the carrier’s local Senior Vice President Gail Grimmett, “We are thrilled that Wi-Fi is now available to our Delta Shuttle customers as it’s a perfect complement to other Shuttle amenities including free morning coffee and newspapers.” The carrier expects to have internet service available on more than 800 aircraft by this summer.
• Sticking with Delta for the moment, they announced expanded codeshare agreements with both China Eastern and China Southern Airlines this week. The Civil Aviation Administration of China approved the link-up of codes and flight numbers and once implemented, codeshare service will be seen across 34 cities within the U.S. and China with China Eastern and 18 cities with China Southern.
• American Airlines issued another letter to its employees this week notifying them of the necessity to “re-gauge” their fleet in order to match supply with market demand, particularly from their hub in Chicago. Current contracts with the pilot’s union prevent the carrier from subbing larger regional jets into markets currently flown with larger mainline aircraft, causing an industry-losing position in unit revenue. The letter also states the airline will focus on premium international business traffic once it exits Chapter 11 protection, hoping to grow their share of the lucrative segment.
• US Airways filed a formal objection with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday claiming Philadelphia’s planned airport expansion would “harm its finances and business operations and force it to shift flights elsewhere.” The carrier controls 70% of the market flying to, through or from PHL, and as a result, the airline would take the brunt of the all but likely increases to airport rates and fees charged to fund the expansion. The city, meanwhile, claims the proposed new runway and terminal expansion are essential to sustain further growth.
• Survey results were released this week from Buyology and uSamp (who?) revealing the most desired brand in the United States. Sorry, Apple, top honors went to Southwest Airlines. Buyology CEO Gary Singer thinks Southwest did so well largely due to its no-fee ad campaign and because of what its service represents in the minds of passengers.
• Finally, and hopefully not an omen of things to come at United, Cathay Pacific continues to have issues a week after it converted from an in-house reservations system to GDS provider Amadeus. Passengers with award tickets are still unable to manage their bookings online and the carrier is working through additional “teething issues” (their words) with the system migration. With United’s upcoming switchover, let this be a reminder to passengers to be proactive and have as much detail about their itineraries as possible in print.

In a little more than two weeks, United Airlines will switch reservations systems from Apollo to Shares, merging all itineraries from Continental and United onto one platform. Other carriers who recently made similar technology shifts were plagued with problems when they flipped the switch, but United is hoping to avoid similar embarrassments.

United’s CEO Jeff Smisek was quoted last week in a Chicago Tribune article as saying, “We’ve had four full-scale dress rehearsals, all the data transfers, and everything is appropriate. We are exceedingly well prepared for it.” Nothing but assurances would flow from the mouth of a CEO, of course, so we’ll all just have to wait and see what manifests come March 3.

When Shares was announced as the system winning out in the merger back in December 2010, one United source mentioned it was the best customer and employee alternative, and its ability to handle migration “in a reasonable amount of time” was key. Having worked on both Apollo and Shares at my previous travel industry positions, I can tell you Apollo far exceeds Shares in its flexibility and ability to handle complex itinerary and ticketing functions, but as the United source mentioned, Shares won out in part because it is the quickest short-term solution. I also know for a fact it’s far cheaper than Apollo. By 2017 – long after any merger pangs – I predict United will abandon Shares for a more flexible and robust GDS.

When Virgin America switched to a new reservations system last year, it suffered website and airport kiosk issues for weeks. US Airways had similar glitches in 2007 when it merged with America West Airlines, causing airport delays and the inability to check-in online. So, while we might see similar issues once United makes the change, I’m taking a simple step to ensure I have all my reservation data in-hand.

For all of my Continental and United reservations post-March, I have printed copies of not only the itinerary, but the e-ticket receipts showing the ticket numbers – probably the most critical data element should things really go awry and backup is needed. I’d encourage everyone to do the same as it might just make your airport experience a little smoother in the coming weeks.

In other airline, hotel and travel industry news last week…

• Virgin America announced Philadelphia will be the carrier’s newest destination beginning in April 2012. Three daily LAX-PHL flights will commence April 4^th and two daily turns SFO-PHL will follow starting April 10^th. If history repeats itself, we should see some pretty decent fare wars in these markets. Presently, both United Airlines and US Airways offer Philly flights from SFO and LAX, and Delta also flies LAX-PHL nonstop. Based on Virgin America research, “50% of travelers flying from PHL to the Los Angeles market now use connecting flights and 45% of those traveling from PHL to the San Francisco Bay Area are connecting passengers.”
• Frankfurt Airport broke passenger records in 2011 by handling 56.44 million people during the year, up 6.5% from 2010 and making it an all-time best. Contributing to the success was the opening of the airport’s fourth runway and Germany’s stable and slightly growing economy compared to other parts of Europe. Air freight, however, took a hit with Fraport handling 2.8% less metric tons in 2011 as compared to 2010.
• William Shattner has been the Priceline spokesperson for 14 years, but that’s about to change. Beginning today, commercials will be airing showing the “Negotiator” (Shattner’s character) plunging to his death off a bridge after saving a bus full of passengers. Priceline’s CEO, Christopher Soder, said a change is needed “to reflect the company’s broader strategy.”
• AAA released the names of the newest Five Diamond Award properties to grace the company’s elite list. The additions are: Aria Sky Suites at Aria Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, The Inn at Palmetto Bluff in Bluffton, SC, Jumbay Bay in Antigua, the Mandarin Oriental in Miami, FL, Montage in Beverly Hills, CA, Ocean House in Watch Hill, RI, The Ritz-Carlton, Lake Tahoe, CA, The Ritz-Carlton, Toronto and the St. Regis Houston, TX.
• In hotel news, the current Crowne Plaza near Cleveland’s convention center will be undergoing a $64 million renovation and reopen next year as a Westin property. It will house 481 rooms and 26,000 square feet of meeting space. Also opening next year will be New York City’s first SpringHill Suites property, a Marriott brand. It will feature 137 rooms in the 19-story hotel Herald Square property.
• Anyone heading to Australia in the next couple of months during peak season? One website I follow occasionally posts a comparison of hotel prices and this one features Aussie hotel rates from January through March 2012. If you’re headed to Sydney in February, for example, and staying in a four-star property, you can expect a minimum rate of US$97.03 per night for the Great Southern Hotel. A five-star hotel, their example as being the Hilton Sydney (not five stars in my opinion), will set you back US$148.13 per night.
• Finally, I keenly watch the Global Distribution System (GDS) world, namely, those reservation systems both airlines and travel agencies use to sell airline tickets and other services. Travelport, GDS provider of Apollo (my favorite), Gaileo and Worldspan, previously rolled out a change to its Agility suite of programs last month that would have cost some agencies $35 per terminal per month to use features they’re currently using today for free. Travelport rolled back the fees after agency backlash, but CEO Gordon Wilson says their relationship with agencies needs to change in order to provide them with the tools they need at a price adaptive with the marketplace. I smell a bit of B.S. here and merely think GDSs are beginning to see their dominance in travel distribution on the wall.

In other hotel, aviation and travel industry news last week…

• Last year, Chicago took the top spot as being the city that charges the most taxes to travelers in the country and effective January 1, 2012, they’ve raised hotel taxes another percentage point. It brings the hotel portion on par now with New York and Las Vegas. Another article, however, states they don’t see “any move to raise taxes on the travel industry.”
• Checks are beginning to arrive in mailboxes across the country with refunds of fees charged for using credit cards overseas. A class-action lawsuit that required filing a claim back in 2008 is finally being settled and people are getting surprises in the mail ranging from $18.04 to thousands of dollars. I quite honestly don’t remember if I filed a claim. I hope so, because the travel period was from February 1, 1996 through November 8, 2006 and I was overseas quite a bit during those 10 years. Were you?
• The Department of Transportation extended the deadline for airlines to advertise fares inclusive of taxes and fees by two days. Now effective January 26^th, American Airlines requested the delay since they claimed Tuesdays are the busiest day of the week for their website and the previous January 24^th requirement would have been too burdensome. No other airlines objected.
• Boeing orders are up 52% this year compared to last, in part due to a record-setting year for the 777. The manufacturer delivered 477 aircraft in 2011, but has a backlog of 3,771 unfilled orders. President and CEO Jim Albaugh stated, “As our current commitments become firm orders and we add even more customers, I have no doubt that 2012 will be the ‘Year of the 737 MAX’.”
• A subsidiary of Delta Air Lines, MLT Vacations, is now the travel wholesaler selling Air France Holidays and Alitalia Vacations. They also run the Delta Vacations brand. Vacation packagers receive bulk fare contracts from airlines, hotels and other travel providers and then combine them to sell complete vacations at a price cheaper than what you’d be able to book individually with each unit. I worked for a couple of these outfits in the 1990s and really enjoyed a unique side of the industry not known by many.
• Online retailer Overstock.com launched a travel page on their popular website. Powered by Priceline, you can book complete vacation packages or individual air, car and hotel reservations. It really acts like a portal, though, because as soon as you enter any type of search criteria, it redirects you to Priceline.
• On January 1st, the former Las Vegas Hilton rebranded as The Las Vegas Hotel & Casino, ending its more than 40 years as a chain hotel. This past Tuesday, workers removed the Hilton logo from the side of the building.
• GDS firm Travelport modified their planned re-pricing of certain functionality within Apollo, Galileo and Worldspan that would have cost travel agencies approximately $35 per month per terminal. Not unlike airlines, the company unbundled several integral features of the systems that were once free and wanted to start charging for those services. After backlash from agency groups, they relented and modified their planned changes.
• Finally, a proposal for a third runway at Hong Kong’s airport has been submitted to the government for consideration. Cathay Pacific and Dragonair, as well as the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines, backed a study supporting the expansion to keep Hong Kong as “the regional and international leading aviation center.”

I follow the Australian airline industry pretty closely and one of my favorite websites to read every day is Australian Business Traveller. This week a reader asked the question, “Why does (Qantas) not want to sell me SYD-ORD via LAX on the A380?” I plugged in some sample dates on the Australian version of Qantas.com.au to find the following results for such an itinerary:

I’m only showing the first several options from the results page and as you can see, the top choices offer connections via Dallas-Ft. Worth and another through Los Angeles to eventually arrive in Chicago. Scrolling through the whole list, not one flight pairing included Qantas’ flagship A380 aircraft that flies from SYD-LAX, namely QF11. The original reader continues:

Another reader, Christopher, responded, “Conspiracy theory: they want to sell more flights on the DFW route because they’re not selling well.” It’s certainly no conspiracy theory… it’s fact. Here are the two SYD-LAX nonstops with QF11 being the A380:

Los Angeles has long been the preferred destination and/or connection point for Australians visiting the United States, and Qantas knows its load factors will be high on those two flights and that they can demand a premium for the A380. I even plugged in the same Sydney to Chicago itinerary looking to purchase a Business Class fare and the resulting options still left the A380 off.

It makes good business sense to drive as much traffic as possible onto routes where demand is softer and as the original reader notes, booking the A380 can still be done by using the multi-city booking tool at the same price. There’s nothing illegal about it and I agree with the practice.

In fact, it happened to me when I was booking my trip to Ireland next year. My preferred flight pairings were never shown online and I had to use the multi-city tool to piece my itinerary together.

This ‘screen bias,’ if you will, isn’t new to the industry. Back when GDSs were airline-owned, carriers would display their own flight pairings – American in Sabre, for example – before any other carriers’ flights would appear. When I worked at a couple of travel wholesalers in the 1990s, I was able to ascertain this bias went even deeper and the airlines had the ability to flow preferential availability to top corporate clients. Some would see seats available in the S-bucket, for example, while others wouldn’t. I have a feeling this practice still exists today.

Airline divestiture of ownership in GDSs and other governmental action has minimized such activity, but with the increase of customer-direct bookings via the web and the development of “Direct Connect” technology to bypass traditional GDSs, airlines can still divert traffic when needed.

In other airline and travel industry news last week…

• Southwest Airlines placed a monumental order for 208 Boeing 737 aircraft this week that includes 150 of the manufacturer’s newest Max version, making the carrier the official launch customer. The first delivery to Southwest won’t occur until 2017. At list prices, the order value is $19 billion and $4.7 billion for the aircraft and engines respectively.
• In addition to his new role as CEO of American Airlines, Tom Horton has been elected Chairman of the oneworld alliance this week. He offered to have another of the alliance carriers’ executives take the post, but “the unanimous view was that the alliance would benefit greatly at this time from the continuity in our leadership that Tom represents – while at the same time underlining the commitment of oneworld to American while it undergoes its restructuring.”
• Cathay Pacific opened their new lounge at San Francisco’s International Airport, the first CX-owned facility in the United States. A grand opening reception was held this past Thursday and Loyalty Traveler has a great review of it. The carrier also introduced details of its new Premium Economy Class product that will be rolled out beginning in March next year. The seats will feature 38 inches of pitch, enhanced recline, footrests, in-seat power and much more.
• Hearings for the dispute between Qantas and the pilots union won’t occur until June next year due in part to the complexity of the matter. The carrier has until March 19^th to submit key witness statements and expert evidence to the panel of “workplace umpires,” while the pilots union has to do the same by April 30^th. Other hearings will take place earlier between the carrier and baggage handler and engineer unions.
• The FAA granted certification to the passenger Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental this week, green lighting deliveries to begin early next year. Lufthansa is the launch customer for the passenger version. The FAA also approved extended operations (ETOPS) of Boeing 777s to 330-minutes, up from 240-minutes this week. This will allow carriers to fly more direct routes between airports and reduce carbon emissions.
• On the passenger front, a Frenchman was arrested this week for his excessive pilfering of items from Air France First Class cabins, which he then resold online. Among the items stolen were napkins, glasses, plates and blankets. The article claims he made about 10,000 euros off the sales of the items during the past three years. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t take a glass or two over the years, but I never resell the tiny amount of stuff I’ve taken.
• Speaking of fraud, the Airlines Reporting Corporation has seen a “marked increase” in unauthorized airline tickets issued. Last year, 18 of these incidents were reported, but the figure to-date for 2011 is 113 and those tickets are valued at more than $1 million. Phishing scams are the main culprit where travel agents receive what they think is official communication from trusted GDS companies and click the link to enter their credentials.
• Finally, staying on the GDS front, Travelport will begin charging travel agencies more for services they currently use for free. Beginning January 1^st, the company’s Agility program that allows agents to use certain client databases, PNR search capabilities, fulfillment services, queues and more will come with a $35 fee per terminal per month. Agency incentives for using GDS technology still remain, but new costs such as this are pointing to a changing landscape in the GDS-Agency relationship.

Happy anniversary to me! I officially launched this blog one year ago today and when I look back at my initial posts I’m a bit embarrassed at their immaturity, but can see how I’ve developed my writing skills and I’m happy with Frequently Flying today. It’ll only get better.

This has been an amazing year and when I first started I had no idea I’d keep up with it, but my passion for the industry brought me back almost daily to write a new post covering topics of interest to me. Special thanks to my long-time readers and equally to those just finding me… I promise this blog will continue for a very long time featuring the same “airline, hotel & travel industry news, reviews & opinions.” I also intend to expand my coverage and possibly include new features and services. Stay tuned for those.

I’ll repeat my inspirations for starting this blog, and I hope you either currently follow them or will after reading this. The amazing Ben Schlappig of One Mile at a Time was an inspiration and I can’t tell you how much I admire him and how he’s turned his similar passion into a full-time gig at such a young age. Next up is Matthew Klint of Live And Let’s Fly. His insightful, honest, thoughtful and sometimes controversial reporting on industry topics drew me in to frequently leave comments on his posts, which made me think… “Hey, I should really start a blog.” Finally, Mark Ashley at Upgrade: Travel Better similarly wrote in a realistic and often thought-provoking manner about the industry I love. He fell off the radar earlier this year, which is sad… I hope he returns to blogging one day.

My other reason for starting this blog relates to my passionate background for the industry. I was an aviation geek from childhood. My Dad took me to O’Hare airport to watch planes depart, I still remember my first flight like it was yesterday, I loved going on road trips and staying in hotels and I initially made it my career path. I earned an undergrad degree in Aviation Business Management at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, learned how to fly and completed two internships while in college. One was with United Airlines in their Flight Dispatch department (EXODD) at headquarters and the other was as an Airport Intern at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport. I’ll eventually blog about those experiences.

After graduation, the only thing open with United immediately was being a reservations agent. That didn’t last long for a variety of reasons, and I soon found a gig with a travel wholesaler who specialized in travel packages to Las Vegas and Hawaii. That firm contracted with United, so I still was sort-of connected with my carrier of choice. I was recruited out of that firm to another tour operator/wholesaler and got deep into both marketing (having freshly completed a M.S. in Integrated Marketing Communications) and technology integration.

I was a pro with Apollo – United’s GDS – and absolutely knew every in and out of that system. I ended up working at my new company’s three offices around the country.

Before working at the third location, though, I was re-hired by United in their Inventory Management department… the elusive IM that so many frequent flyers wonder about. That was my favorite job. It paid well, I had amazing travel perks and worked in the department that managed the hugely complex inventory allocation, for which I geek out on more than you can imagine. If you haven’t already checked it out, I suggest you read my Airfare pricing buckets and airline fare basis codes REVEALED! post. You’ll learn a few things that’ll pay off when you search for flights.

I was young and wet behind the ears, so when my previous employer came back to me and offered a significant pay bump along with other perks, I bailed on United. I still regret that to this day and I wish I had stayed at United. It offered incredible upward mobility, it was my “dream job” and I worked for my lifelong desired employer. The money thrown at me at that time by my previous employer was too good to be true, so I left. For any “youngins” out there… follow your passion, not the money!

At the third location, things didn’t look good at my final position with that firm as the office I was in was potentially going to be on the chopping block. I loved where I lived then, so left the industry and went into Project Management in the Financial Services industry.

Anyway… enough of my background. Do you really care? Maybe so, but I’ve gone so far off tangent to what this post is supposed to be about.

As you read this I’m doing exactly what I love… racking up more airline miles and probably staring out a window at the beautiful world below. There’s just something about leaving all your worries and issues behind and taking in the beauty of the landscape, sky and view from 35,000 or so feet. It’s incredibly peaceful and brings me an immense amount of joy and humility.

The mileage run I’m on today ended up being unnecessary as I’ve already hit the 100,000-mile mark with United, but I booked it at a time I was uncertain I would have hit that level. Still, though, nothing makes me happier than to travel. It’s been my passion for as long as I can remember. Today’s flights also bring me closer to United Million Miler status, so it’s definitely not a waste.

I hope your weekend is as enjoyable as mine. Thanks for reading my blog and I hope I’ve added to either your enjoyment of flying and travel, or brought you posts that increased your frequent flyer and hotel balances.

I’m looking forward to what year two brings for Frequently Flying.

I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge the one and only Randy Petersen, founder of BoardingArea and basically the God of all things related to miles and points. I am truly honored to be a small part of his incredible team of bloggers here at BoardingArea. Thank you, Randy, for believing in me and opening up your generosity to allow my blog to be included with the “best-in-class” here on BoardingArea.

In other airline, hotel and travel industry news this week…

• EVA Airways has come out and acknowledged they are “in aggressive talks” to join either the oneworld or Star Alliance by 2013. Here in the U.S. they fly to Anchorage, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York’s JFK. To me, Star seems more fitting with United Airlines’ stellar connection opportunities from LAX, SFO and SEA. American would have a slight advantage at JFK, but I feel the West coast presence would be the biggest draw. They also have a huge presence in China with service to 25 cities via their Taipei hub. It’s gotta be Star.
• The U.S. Department of Transportation is keeping a close eye on airlines and their social media outreach on Twitter. Current rules requiring tax and fee disclosures must be adhered to even with the 140-character limit. Airlines must link any tweets with airfare advertisements to “a place on a separate screen where the nature and amount of taxes and fees are prominently and immediately displayed.” Come January 24, 2012, all-in fares inclusive of all taxes and mandatory fees will be required on all advertising, no matter the medium.
• The DOT also this week granted antitrust immunity to American Airlines and Qantas. Both carriers can now set prices, schedule flights and provide enhanced benefits, connections and other services to travelers between the U.S. and Australia. An interesting tidbit from the article reveals that Qantas holds a 40% share of the U.S.-Australia market, followed by United Airlines & Air New Zealand holding 27% and Delta Air Lines and V Australia with 22%.
• AAdvantage geek was first to report that American Airlines introduced new Flagship Check-in at Los Angeles International Airport with a rather hilarious “illustration” of the new layout at LAX. It’s available to Concierge Key, paid First Class and those who buy American’s Five-Star Service travel assistance. I have a feeling I’ll try it out for a couple of reasons. One, I love the elitist experience (yes, I’m that shallow) and two, just to review it for my blog.
• American also expanded their agreement with the Transportation Security Administration and the trusted traveler program with the inclusion of additional airports. Las Vegas McCarran, Los Angeles International and Minneapolis-Saint Paul airports will be included next month in the test program to expedite “vetted” travelers through security. I received an invitation, but will pass since I’m gung-ho on achieving United million-miler status next year and won’t be flying American with any regularity.
• American also launched an aggressive new television campaign with online contests and more, but I came across a neat non-contest ad featuring one of my favorite actors, Kevin Spacey. There are three new ads starring Mr. Spacey that highlight the “philosophy of understanding the individual flyer.” Here’s one of them:

• Global Distribution Systems are a hot topic in the airline industry this year with American being the forefront challenger of their traditional booking methodology. Those issues aside, GDSs are making bank and two of them this week reported stellar third quarter results. Amadeus posted a net income of €136.8 million, or approximately $186.4 million, and Travelport (Apollo, Worldspan & Galileo) enjoyed a $51 million net income this past quarter. Not too shabby.
• Finally, Asiana Airlines is reporting it will expand its long-haul routes and desires to become a world top-10 carrier in revenue and profit by 2015. A Star Alliance carrier, Asiana will take delivery of its first Airbus A380 in 2014 that will be used on Seoul to U.S.A. routes. I’m certainly saving some of my miles for an opportunity to ride on an OZ A380 and hope they don’t restrict award space on that bird in premium cabins as so many other carriers do. Separately, I’m flying Asiana in First and Business Class later this month, so look for a trip report soon.

In other airline, hotel & travel industry news this week…

• Analysts expect United Airlines to place a major aircraft order early next year for as many as 200 narrowbody aircraft, possibly splitting it up between Airbus and Boeing. In a much better financial position for such a large order than American, I would anticipate these new birds would eventually replace the 757 fleet and oldest A319 and A320s. Separately, United’s old world headquarters in Elk Grove Village, IL remains up for sale with no takers for the past two years. One real estate agent claims no corporation wants such a sprawling campus anymore and cites a changing workplace that desires “open, lots of light in a cubed environment.” Actually, that’s exactly what those buildings have. I worked in two of the buildings and while there are offices, the majority of the layout is open & light filled.
• For severe delays, United has historically sent a proactive email with compensation choices, but easyJet in Europe is taking a remarkably different approach. Here, if you’ve paid for the full ‘Flexi fare’ ticket and your flight is delayed more than 15 minutes, you’ll get a free ticket anywhere the carrier flies. Pretty generous, although their route network only goes so far as it’s more of an intra-Europe Southwest-style airline.
• Additional consumer protection rules for airline advertising will begin January 24, 2012 whereby airlines will be required to display advertised prices inclusive of all taxes and fees. Allegiant, Southwest and Spirit challenged the Department of Transportation claiming it would create an undue burden on internal systems and create confusion in the minds of travelers. Their motion for a stay was denied. Also coming in January will be the free 24-hour hold or cancellation policy for carriers who don’t have it today, notification on e-ticket receipts spelling out baggage allowances and fees, and a rule prohibiting post-purchase increases in airfares.
• Good and bad news for Qantas this week. The carrier announced it will begin offering in-flight internet on their flagship Airbus A380 aircraft early next year on a trial basis. Qantas’ former CEO John Borghetti promised onboard Wi-Fi back in 2007 for the superjumbo, which will also include internet and email access via the seat-back screens. For the bad news, Qantas experienced two days of strikes this past week by ground staff forcing them to cancel 30 flights on Tuesday and a few on Friday. Other flights were delayed anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour.
• Delta Air Lines and Virgin Australia’s codeshare agreement has won approval to officially begin selling each other’s flights on a limited amount of routes, extend lounge access to members of both frequent flyer programs and co-locate operations. In Los Angeles, V Australia flights will now arrive and depart from Delta’s Terminal 5 at LAX, which will undergo a renovation during the next several years. Delta is looking to modernize the terminal, lounge and boarding gates and will cover nearly $12 million in costs of the overall $229 million terminal refresh.
• Finally, American keeps losing battles in court with regard to restricting Online Travel Agencies from selling the carriers flight unless they adopt a direct connect system to bypass GDSs. This week an appellate court ruled American must allow Orbitz to sell the carrier’s flight as “Customers searching for travel packages want to book the flights they find.” Separately, a court date has finally been set to hear the arguments between American Airlines and Sabre where the airline alleges the GDS sponsored a boycott of the carrier and other anticompetitive practices. Both sides will present their cases beginning June 13, 2012.